Jury adjourns in US sniper trial

Muhammad: Accused of manipulating the younger Malvo

Jurors in the trial of Washington sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad will resume deliberations on Monday, after the case was adjourned for the weekend.

Mr Muhammad faces four charges, including murder, and could receive the death penalty if convicted.

The jury deliberated for four hours before the judge sent them home.

On Thursday, prosecutors opened their case against Mr Muhammad's alleged younger accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, calling him "a smart, clever killer".

Mr Muhammad is alleged to have been the mastermind behind the killings.

"The case is now in your hands," Circuit Judge LeRoy F Millette said earlier as he sent the jury out for the first time.

Mr Muhammad, 42, and Jamaican-born Lee Boyd Malvo are suspected of carrying out the shootings in October, 2002, that left 10 people dead and three wounded.

Prosecutors said the spree was an attempt to extort $10m from the US Government.

Killing 'captain'

Gulf War veteran Mr Muhammad faces four charges relating to the death of Dean Myers, shot dead at a petrol station in Manassas, Virginia, on 9 October, 2002.

Richard Conway, prosecuting, told jurors at Mr Muhammad's trial in Virginia Beach that he had been the "captain" of "a sniper-spotter killing team taking out innocent people".

Mr Muhammad's lawyers sought to cast doubt on prosecution evidence and witnesses.

They discounted the testimony of an expert on sniper technique and questioned the ballistic evidence linking Muhammad to the murder weapon, a .223 Bushmaster rifle.

Mr Malvo, 18, is on trial over the death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, who was shot dead on 14 October 2002 in Falls Church, Virginia.

His defence team described Mr Malvo as an obedient, lonely child, desperate for a father figure and in thrall to Mr Muhammad.

"He (Muhammad) changed him, he indoctrinated him, He made him a child soldier," defence lawyer Craig Cooley said.

But prosecutor Robert Horan said Mr Malvo was a "smart, clever killer".